Thor Ragnarok review: Marvel finally adds fun to the thunder

Thor (played by Chris Helmsworth, left) and Hulk in one of Thor: Ragnarok's quieter moments

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Did you know there were already two Thor movies? You might think you know that now, but after seeing Thor: Ragnarok, they'll seem like distant memories, a sort of hazy, distant mythology much like the Norse legends that vaguely inspires Marvel's Thor in the first place.

It's not as though 2011's Thor or 2013's Thor: The Dark World lacked spectacle – from the grandeur of Asgard itself, with its glittering spires and techno-fantasy aesthetic, to barrelling through numerous holes in reality itself in a lightning-fast tour of the Nine Realms in The Dark World's denouement, the Thor movies have always been visually impressive, even as their plots occasionally ventured into po-faced territory.

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But director Taika Waititi's take on the God of Thunder is transformative. Gone are the often morose ponderings on worthiness, replaced by a charm, wit, and warmth the previous films lacked. Better yet, it's all backed up with imagery so colourful, imaginative, and psychedelic that it makes Guardians of the Galaxy look mundane.

The best description for Thor: Ragnarok is "metal". From an opening where Thor (Chris Hemsworth, on fine comedic and dramatic form throughout) battles and defeats fire demon Surtur and the burning hordes of Muspelheim, to new villain Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett) with her intricate and terrifying crown of shadows, everything feels like a particularly delerious, airbrushed heavy metal album cover brought to life. The result is a tone and energy nothing else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can rival, and gives Thor's corner of that universe an indelible identity of its own for arguably the first time.

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Waititi further deviates from the first two movies by effectively discarding their repurcussions in the first act. Thor's relationship with Jane Foster (an absent Natalie Portman) is written out with a passing line, and his absence from Captain America: Civil War is explained as him being off searching for Infinity Stones (he didn't find any). Meanwhile, Loki (Tom Hiddleston, as crowd-pleasing as ever) and his great deception from The Dark World – impersonating Odin and usurping the throne of the gods – is wrapped up early on, before sending the alienated trickster on a cosmic roadtrip with his brother, Thor.

However, the film is really two stories – the eponymous fall of Asgard, and the Planet Hulk storyline, which saw the jade giant battling his way to dominance on the distant world of Sakaar. Here, the death of Odin leads to the return of the exiled Hela, whose return to Asgard casts Thor and Loki to Sakaar.

Considering the stories have nothing to do with each other at source, writers Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost have done a marvellous job merging them. Thor and Loki's attempts to escape neatly explain their absence from Asgard while Hela stakes brutal claim to the throne, with the added bonus of giving them an interplanetarey time-out to repair their long-fractured relationship. Fans of Loki in particular will relish his evolution over the course of this film, which wisely dodges yet another predictable betrayal from the God of Lies, while the introduction of new hero Valkyrie as a drunken, rabble-rousing lost Asgardian with ties to Hela gives actor Tessa Thompson a compelling character arc to follow.

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It's the involvement of the Hulk that will delight though, fitting into Thor's mythos neatly while benefitting from some much needed development. Neither the Hulk nor alter ego Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo)have been seen in the wider MCU since the end of Age of Ultron, and, as thoroughly spoiled by every trailer, Thor finds him trapped in a gladiatorial arena on Sakaar overseen by The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Paradoxically, the endless battle means the Hulk has finally found a measure of peace, giving some rare emotional moments to a giant ball of rage, while Banner has been trapped inside him for years, leading to a hilariously skittish performance from Ruffalo when he finally emerges.

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Taika Waititi on how he found the funny bone in Thor: Ragnarok

Sakaar itself is another brilliant example of the wild cosmos Waititi brings to the screen. It finally, vividly brings the imagination of artist Jack Kirby to life, even if the Planet Hulk storyline came years after Kirby's death. Weird, extravagant architechture, impossible machines, overly elaborate costumes and bold, clashing colours make up this world, while the backgrounds leap with detail and verve.

However, Ragnarok's adherence to the comics' lore, let alone actual Norse mythology, is minimal. Hela's backstory is drastically changed and now borrows liberally from another Asgardian character, and completely changes her standing in myth (where she's Loki's daughter). Other characters, such as stony gladiator Korg (played by Waititi himself) is a light-hearted, almost comedic character, rather than a hardened, solemn warrior.

Indeed, comedy is Waititi's go-to throughout Ragnarok. Thankfully, much of it works, with the same hilariously deadpan and deliberately awkward moments that marked his earlier What We Do in the Shadows proving just as funny. There is a tendency to rely a bit too much on gags and pratfalls though, and there are a few moments that would have benefitted from a more sombre tone. Similarly, a couple of signature moments – Valkyrie's entrance, a valiant move from Banner, and a few others – rely on the same visual punchline, to diminishing effect.

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If there's a major flaw in the film though, it's Hela. Not in performance - Blanchett clearly relishes the role and steals most of her scenes, but the character has as little meat on her motivations or grand plan as there is on the skeletal hordes of Asgardian warriors she revives. Its a disappointing trend in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that the villains have little substance, and despite Blanchett's best efforts, Hela's one-note "conquer the universe" plan falls flat. That said, it's immense fun to see Marvel's first female enemy physically stand toe to toe with Thor, and there's one especially brilliant scene that plays like the evil remix to the now-iconic 'storming the trenches' scene from Wonder Woman that audiences will love. Blanchett owns the role; I just wish there were more for her to do with it.

Hela's bland end-goal is a forgiveable sin though (if at least in part because audiences are almost conditioned by now to expect the villains will disappoint), as there's so much else in Thor: Ragnarok to like and be swept up in. As transformative in tone as Waititi's approach is for the film franchise structurally speaking, it's just as revolutionary for the characters' standing in the Marvel Universe as a whole. This isn't a two-hour episode where the bad guy is defeated and everything resumes normal service – the status quo is shattered, and Thor and Loki are profoundly changed by the experience. All of which bodes very well for the development of the shared universe going into Avengers: Infinity War, and makes Ragnarok itself one of Marvel's best films yet.